Operating in a VU utilizing a computer is a pass-time that is gaining popularity. Generally, a VU is an interactive simulated environment accessible by multiple users who can interact through an “online” interface using a network client. One deficiency with VUs is that the surroundings and items in the virtual environment are not easily customized to a user's desire and as a result virtual places and virtual interactions are limited.
One deficiency with VU's is that the environment and items or objects in the environment are generally fixed within certain parameters set by the VU service provider. However customization of objects and surroundings/environments may be created when a user builds the item into the VU. The abilities to build objects and landscape an environment are skills that a user must develop according to the options and parameters of a particular VU. Thus, the creation of new objects and environments can require significant skills and can take considerable development effort and time on the part of the user. This effort and time will vary accordingly to the user's ability and experience with object creation. Thus, customization of the VU to what a user may want is less than perfect. It is worth noting that while a user is involved in the creation of an object or environment, their level of interaction within the VU can drop significantly. In VUs such as Second Life, other avatars can see that a user's avatar is in the process of building in the VU. (Second Life is a trademark of Linden Research in the United States, other countries, or both). The Second Life client program provides its users (referred to as residents) with tools to view, navigate, and modify the Second Life world and participate in its virtual economy. Second Life and other on-line VUs present a tremendous new outlet for both structured and unstructured virtual collaboration, gaming, exploration, advertising, and travel, as well as real-life simulations in virtual spaces.
Such an effort to customize the VU typically takes away a certain area of space around the avatar that is building in the VU. Other avatars may be less likely to chat or approach this avatar to initiate interaction. Likewise, the avatar, controlled by the user, may be busy with the task at hand of building an object or environment and thus are less likely to leave their physical position in the VU to initiate interaction.
User friendliness of computers continues to be enhanced by better user interfaces. User interfaces for computers systems have evolved significantly since the personal computer (PC) first became widely available. Early PCs used rather primitive user input devices, where a single keyboard was the only human input mechanism. The vast improvement in microprocessors, available memory, and programming functionality have all contributed to the advancement of user interface designs and the development of user friendly graphic based operating systems and hardware. In addition, interfaces for moving vast amounts of data into, or out of a personal computer and across a network have also improved.
One particular area of advancement in user interface technology pertains to surface computing technology. Surface computing allows any number of users to interact with a computer through an interactive surface. The computer can render a graphical user interface (‘GUI’) on the surface and multiple users may manipulate GUI displayed “objects” directly with their hands using multi-touch technology as opposed to using traditional input devices such as a mouse or a keyboard. In such a manner, the devices through which users provide input and receive output are merged into a single surface, which provide an intuitive and efficient mechanism for users to interact with the computer. As can be appreciated the combined software and hardware technology of the interactive surface can allow a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects.
As surface computing becomes more ubiquitous in everyday environments, readers will appreciate advancements in how users may utilize surface computing to intuitively and efficiently perform tasks that may be cumbersome using traditional input devices such as a keyboard and mouse. More specifically in this case, the advancement pertains to the detection of something near an interactive surface, which is sometimes referred to as proximity detection. Generally, as applied to user interfaces, proximity detection is thus concerned with the detection of multiple objects, including inanimate objects, persons, and/or various gestures through the use of a user's hand or finger, for example, when in proximity of a user interface or surface. Such a system is commonly referred to as a multi-touch interactive system. Such a system can include a touch screen or touch tablet (touchpad) that recognizes multiple simultaneous touch points and typically has software to interpret such simultaneous touches.
There are several detection technologies that may be utilized for detection of devices by a multi-touch surface. Various optical type detection systems can be utilized by a multi-touch surface. Optical-based proximity detection techniques have been developed that provide for illuminating an entire user interface surface with light and employ a digital video camera to recognize objects that are either in contact or proximate to a graphic display surface, based upon the light reflected from the objects.
With regard to virtual universes, users can inhabit and interact in the virtual environment via avatars, which can be two or three-dimensional graphical representations of human or non-human form. Alternately described, an avatar can be a graphical representation that a user selects for others to see while in the same virtual environment. An avatar can assume various graphical representations such as that of a human character, animal character, an icon, abstract personas, and so on.
Virtual environments have many different names. For example, a virtual environment can be referred to as a “metaverse,” a “3D Internet” a virtual world, and so on referred to herein as a virtual universe (VU). Although there are many different types of virtual environments, there are several features many VUs have in common. For example, many VUs have shared space which is a “universe” that allows many users to concurrently participate in an activity. The VU residents/avatars can traverse, inhabit, and interact with other avatars via 3-D graphics and landscapes. An avatar often referred to as “humanoid” can have a wide range of business and social experiences while interacting with the VU. Such business and social experiences are becoming more common and increasingly important in on-line VUs. Thus, a VU can be populated by many thousands of residents or avatars where each avatar can have user customized attributes.
An agent can be a user's account, upon which the user can build an avatar, and which is tied to the inventory of assets the user owns. A region can be a virtual area of land within the VU, typically residing on a single server. Assets, avatars, the environment, and anything visual can have UUIDs (unique universal identifier) that are associated with geometric data, among other data. The geometric data can be distributed to users as textual coordinates. Textures can be distributed to users as graphics files, which are placed within the boundaries of specified textual coordinates. Effects data can be rendered by the user's client according to the user's preferences and user's device capabilities. Lastly, socialization and/or community features allow and encourage the formation of social groups such as teams, guilds, clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, etc.
Avatars or residents can be personas or representations of the users of the VU, and residents can roam all about the virtual region by walking, driving, flying, or even by teleportation or transportation, which is essentially moving through space from one point to another in the VU, more or less instantaneously. The VU can also include things that do not presently exist in real life. An avatar can have a wide range of business and social experiences while interacting with the VU. Such business and social experiences are becoming more common and increasingly important in on-line VUs.
Many VUs also have a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI can depict the VU or some form of “space” visually, ranging in style from 2D “cartoon” imagery to a more immersive 3D environment. In addition many virtual environments provide immediacy, interactivity, and persistence. Immediacy allows interactions between a user's avatar and the environment to take place in real time. Persistence provides a continuous environment regardless of whether individual users are logged in.
Interactivity with the environment allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content to a limited degree. As stated above the types of objects that an avatar can posses and the types of actions an avatar can do is limited. The ability to customize such objects, actions and gestures is also less than perfect. As stated above, what graphics are available for objects, actions and gestures in the VU is limited.